If You Are in NYC, Please Take Action to Ensure a Better Response

CAAAV alert: Call 311 and demand that the leaders of this City take responsibility for Chinatown/Lower East Side and other still impacted communities. Stop putting people over profits. The people of our communities deserve just as much attention as Wall Street and Times Square.

Helpful Information on City Services From VOCAL-NYC

FOOD: If you lost food during the storm, e.g. spoiled food due to an electricity outage, you can apply for emergency food stamps. Go to the nearest HRA or HASA Center and fill out a 2921 Form.

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HASA: The 14th Street, Coney Island and Staten Island HASA Centers appear to be closed. Please call to confirm. You can go to the closest HASA Center if yours is currently closed. Please scroll down to the bottom of these email for a list of HASA Centers and phone numbers. The HASA Service Line is 212-971-0626, although no one was answering the phone today.

METHADONE: Methadone maintenance treatment programs appear to be offering guest dosing and multiple days for take-homes. If you cannot get to your regular program, go to the nearest one and ask them to call your counselor to confirm your dose. To find a program near you, visit this OASAS website. We have been unable to reach OASAS staff regarding any troubleshooting, but please let Fred know if you have problems: (646) 321-5282 or fred@vocal-ny.org.

MEDICAID: Fee for service Medicaid is waiving prior authorization requirements for urgent health needs during the state of emergency. Contact the CSC Call Center at 800-343-9000 for more information.

LOCAL SERVICES & 311: We have not been able to get through to 311 today due to call volume and busy signals, although we encourage you to try if you need to. As an alternative, you can reach out to your local elected officials office. Click on these links to find your City Council Member, State Assembly Member or State Senator. Do NOT call 911 unless it is a real emergency!

COURT: Manhattan DAT court is open. Do not assume your hearing is cancelled unless you can confirm it. We do not know if the courts are issuing bench warrants for people who don't appear given the limited transportation options after the storm.

VOLUNTEER: Occupy Wall Street is working with our allies to organize volunteer opportunities in Red Hook, Chinatown and other areas affected by the storm. Check out their Twitter feed. VOCAL can also use volunteers with harm reduction services and supporting HIV/AIDS housing programs affected by the storm. Contact Jaron at (718) 864-3932 or jaron@vocal-ny.org.

VOCAL EVENTS: Our events are cancelled for the rest of the week. Get in touch if you need anything or want to volunteer!

Staten Island

Donations & Immediate Needs From CAAAV

From CAAAV (Committees Against Anti-Asian Violence) in Chinatown, Lower Manhattan:

"Everyone is coming to us in the community. We had folks from the City-run evacuation center at Seward Park come to us asking for supplies. The 7th precinct had our sign on their front door and their front desk were directing people to us. At the same time other officers from the 7th precinct TRIED TO SHUT US DOWN."

WOW! MANY THANKS to all the individuals who dropped off food, canvassed, brought supplies and worked with us all day to help with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Over 500 residents from Chinatown and the Lower East Side came to our office to get their phones charged, to get food and supplies, and most importantly to get INFORMATION.

This is the state of where things are at:

We have not scratched the surface of people's needs. Today outreach volunteers reported back to us that folks in public housing had no water and no electricity. The ones who could do it were filling up water from a broken hydrant and walking it up over 10 flights of stairs. Hundreds of tenants were able to get some donations, but they were going out the door as fast as they were coming in. We will not be able to sustain this level of need.

Everyone is coming to us in the community. We had folks from the City-run evacuation center at Seward Park come to us asking for supplies. The 7th precinct had our sign on their front door and their front desk were directing people to us. At the same time other officers from the 7th precinct TRIED TO SHUT US DOWN.

Where is the leadership of this City? Where is FEMA? We were told on Wall Street the lights are on in all the buildings, and Christmas lights are on in the streets. It was clear where the priority is when the community next door has not been prioritized. Today was another day where there was no information given out and City officials were nowhere to be seen.

This is what we need immediately:

Donations. Specifically-- food, water, flashlights, batteries (AA, AAA, D). We could use another generator and power outlets for people to charge things.

Volunteers. To help with outreach, distribution of supplies, and organizing/moving people. We anticipate more than double the amount of people to come through tomorrow. We're also getting specific requests to check up on seniors and would like to be able to do that if possible. (Note: If you plan on coming through you will not have much ability to use your cellphone. Maybe texts, but not much else.)

Take action. Call 311 and demand that the leaders of this City take responsibility for Chinatown/Lower East Side and other still impacted communities. Stop putting people over profits. The people of our communities deserve just as much attention as Wall Street and Times Square.

We are still operating from 10am-5pm each day until electricity comes back on in the neighborhood and when the City decides that our communities are important enough to send resources to.

If you have any questions or want to support, reach out to us at justice@caaav.org. Photos from today are here. We are trying to get back to people as soon as we can, but we're most likely able to respond after 8pm when we can get to a place with cell service. The best thing you can do is just come down and bring stuff/people with you.

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